Medical Education News from AMSNY: February 2019

Highlights

AMSNY is hard at work, advocating for an expansion of state funding for diversity in medicine pipeline programs and scholarships.

The state has supported successful programs run by AMSNY in partnership with medical schools across the state for over 25 years, and funded a new scholarship launched by AMSNY two years ago.

Increasing state funding from the current level of $1.744 million to $3 million would help us expand our diversity in medicine pipeline programs to serve more students from underrepresented backgrounds, and double the number of medical school scholarship awards (pegged to SUNY tuition). Providing more students with these opportunities will help close the diversity gap among physicians. Learn more about AMSNY’s efforts.

As we advocate for these crucial programs, we can use your help! Tweet at your state representatives asking them to support expanding state-funded #DiversityInMedicine programs, and tag @AMSNY.

AMSNY Students Share Their Stories

Hundreds of students from underrepresented backgrounds have benefitted from the opportunities and support provided by AMSNY Diversity in Medicine programs over the years. Now, some of our students share their stories with us!

Hear directly from AMSNY post-baccalaureate students at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo about their experiences in the program and their goals for a career of service through medicine. Learn more.

Diversity in Medicine

Weill Cornell Medicine: Diversity Stalwart Lauded With Lectureship

Dr. Elizabeth Wilson-Anstey has been a champion of diversity in academic medicine for more than 40 years, dedicating her career at Weill Cornell Medicine to supporting generations of aspiring minority doctors and scientists. As a tribute to that enduring dedication, Weill Cornell Medicine on Oct. 6 announced that it has created a new lectureship in Dr. Wilson-Anstey’s name. Learn more.

This summer was a bit of an experiment for Kayla Baker and Fred Johnson III. Both are undergraduate biology majors at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) with an interest in pursuing a career in medicine that also includes research, but when they arrived at Einstein in June neither of them had much experience working in a lab. Learn more.

More than 300 participants from across the Northeast are expected to gather on the Upstate Medical University campus Feb. 16 to participate in a conference to address issues such as advocacy and medicine, refugee health and social determinants of health. This year marks the first time the Latino Medical Student Association has held its Northeast Regional Conference at Upstate. Most recently, the conference was held at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and Hofstra University on Long Island. Learn more.

Medical Education & Training

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Road to Residency

Each autumn, fourth-year medical students at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) embark on a ritual that is equal parts life-changing and career-defining-the residency interview process. Etoro Ekpe, a Columbia medical student in the MD-MPH program, traveled to 21 interviews between October 2018 and January 2019. Ekpe wants to specialize in obstetrics & gynecology, a field she immersed herself in during two month-long electives in her fourth year of medical school. Learn more.

SUNY Upstate Medical University: Hundreds Seek Spot in New Family Medicine Residency Program

The new Upstate Medical University Family Medicine Residency Program has a positive problem on its hands: too many good applicants.

Program Director R. Eugene Bailey, MD, FAAFP, said the program has received 400 applications for six spots. Program administrators and Upstate faculty are in the midst of more than 70 personal interviews with candidates; interviews will continue through the end of January. Learn more.

Faculty

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Q&A with Dean Tomaselli

Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, an Einstein alumnus, returned to campus in July to assume his new role as the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean. Here, he discusses his priorities, his vision for the future and more. Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Creates New Position of Dean for Gender Equity in Science and Medicine

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has created a new position, Dean for Gender Equity in Science and Medicine, to advance efforts to provide a supportive, collegial environment in which faculty, students, and trainees will succeed and feel valued without experiencing bias relating to their gender. Carol Horowitz, MD, MPH, a Professor of Population Health Science and Policy, has been named to the new position. Learn more.

The Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has appointed a distinguished neonatologist as the department’s executive vice chair. Six additional faculty members have been appointed to the department’s leadership council. Learn more.

Student News

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Harlem: “We Can Do Better”

TouroCOM student Justin Chin was recognized for his work on behalf of the Asian Pacific Islander American community with this year’s TouroCOM Harlem Student DO of the Year. Chin, who is originally from San Francisco, graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Integrative Biology. Learn more.

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell Students Teach Kids About Healthy Living

Students from the Barack Obama Elementary School in Hempstead, NY, learned about the building blocks for being well for a lifetime at the first annual Healthy Living Long Island event, a new public health initiative led by medical students at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell that is designed to help lay the foundation for healthy habits starting at an early age. Learn more.

New York Medical College Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences Profile on Lauren Walsh: Gaining Big-Picture Knowledge

In 2018, Lauren Walsh was working for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (a biochemistry pharmaceutical company based in Tarrytown, N.Y.) when she got the itch to go back to school. With a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry under her belt, the Hofstra graduate says she knew she would need an advanced degree in order to achieve a more senior role. Learn more.

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Middletown: Lauren Fleig Named Student DO of the Year at TouroCOM Middletown

As part of the decision for DO Student of the Year, a student is nominated by either a faculty member or a fellow student. Once chosen, candidates must write an essay explaining why they deserve the award. For her essay, Fleig described her work volunteering with the local homeless shelter and her position as co-chair of the student committee that organized a community health fair in Middletown last year. Learn more.

Other News

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell Launches Weekly Health and Wellness Radio Show

The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell is taking health education to the airwaves with the launch of their new weekly, half-hour radio show, Well Said with Dr. Ira Nash, scheduled to premiere on Monday, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m. on WRHU 88.7 FM, Radio Hofstra University, an award-winning radio station celebrating 60 years of broadcast in 2019. Learn more.

CUNY School of Medicine Faculty Recently Published Research Articles

Dr. Holly G. Atkinson, Clinical Professor in the Department of Medical Education was lead author on two recently published articles regarding medical education. Read her published work in MedEdPortal and Liebertpub.

Meghan Newcomer, MS ’16, took a week off last January to fly around the world, but it wasn’t what you’d call a vacation. The Weill Cornell Medicine-trained physician assistant ran the 2018 World Marathon Challenge: seven 26.2-mile races in seven days on seven continents. And she came in second among the field of a dozen women-even winning one of the races, the South American leg in Cartagena, Colombia. Learn more.

New York Medical College: Center for Disaster Medicine Hosts Mass Casualty Triage Training at Local Hospital

The Center for Disaster Medicine hosted a day-long mass casualty triage training course at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y., on December 19, to prepare medical professionals for mass shootings, bombings and other disasters and to highlight the importance of such training to elected officials in attendance, including New York State Senate Majority Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, fourth from left. Learn more.